Select Local Merchants

The staff members at Sylvan Learning's numerous study facilities understand that each child learns differently. Therefore, they don't try to implement a uniform tutoring system; instead, they design custom lesson programs based on the results of standardized testing, diagnostic tools, and one-on-one interviews.
Tutors work with students from kindergarten through grade 12, illuminating topics ranging from basic reading and writing to remembering complex algebraic formulas without having them tattooed on your chest. Many of Sylvan's instructors work in local schools, so they are intimately familiar with common curricula and understand how to gear lessons toward optimal results.

The team at Burien C.A.R.E.S. has a huge responsibility. The non-profit organization is responsible for Burien's animal control, which means?among a slew of other tasks?they rescue cats and dogs, help them get
care, and ultimately find homes. A glance over the organization's Facebook page reveals that this is a never-ending effort, though there are plenty of stories with happy endings. The staff of animal lovers often share information about dogs returned to their owners or cats that have found new homes.
While they mostly cater to furry clients, Burien C.A.R.E.S. also works with the occasional human, mostly through educating the community about pet care, responsible pet ownership, and what to do once a dog learns it can order pizza online.
To support these efforts, the organization hosts occasional fundraising events.

Escape Outdoors stocks its shelves with an extensive wardrobe of apparel and gear designed to withstand the world’s harsh outdoor environment. With popular name brands such as The North Face, Patagonia, Helly Hanson, and others to choose from, customers will find themselves face-to-face with an ominously large list of options, not unlike the time they witnessed a troop of yetis materialize out of the mountain mist after hours of wandering over treacherous bunny hills. Guard your feet from the ground’s mood swings with a pair of men’s Reef AWOL sandals ($30), whose grippy outsole ensures optimal traction while freerunning to work. A women's Under Armour Proxima hoody shirt ($45) keeps female athletes cool, dry, and fresh-smelling with HeatGear moisture control and UV protection. Enwrap a gentleman’s noggin within the acrylic embrace of a Nixon Smoky beanie ($25), or keep your body’s precious heat from escaping through your navel by wearing a women’s ColdGear UA Base 2.0 crew shirt from Under Armour ($49.99), which comes in black, cornflower, or pink.

Cindy Ross was an unlikely person to found a scuba-diving school. Told by a commercial diving instructor at 19 that she was too small to scuba, Ross didn?t begin to explore the sport until she was in her 30s. Earning certification was a trial, and she spent her first four dives lugging 80-pound gear in the snow up and down a massive hill?and, adding insult to injury, the men?s equipment didn?t even fit properly. But the fifth dive changed everything. Held in Puget Sound, Ross felt a calling to the location's green waters and white anemones, and since then, the aquanaut has frolicked with such neighbors as a 1,200-pound sea lion, hundreds of Canadian seals, and a giant Pacific octopus.
At Scuba Shoppe, Ross and her team of instructors immerse guests of all ages in
the sport of scuba. Try Scuba classes held in the center's 84-degree pool familiarize students with their equipment before they plunge into the water to practice. Alternatively, an open-water certification program from Scuba Schools International expounds on these pool sessions with shore dives in the rolling waters of Puget Sound, which let students hone their skills in a more realistic environment or find a dolphin pod to adopt them. As part of this training, they also have the chance to explore the briny depths aboard underwater scooters. For the more advanced,, Scuba Shoppe provides training for specialty certifications, including rescue diving, night diving, and underwater digital photography. An onsite dive shop outfits customers with all the necessary dive gear and accessories.

Staffed by experienced professionals and computers who’ve sworn allegiance to the Three Laws of Golfing Robotics, GolfTec’s syndicate of golf training centers grooms games with a five-pronged approach enhanced by technological refinements. Score-shaving wisdom resonates within the walls of the indoor facilities, where certified personal coaches point out flaws and strengths while providing golfers with tips to permanently improve their game from tee to green. By utilizing video swing analysis and motion-measurement software, instructors can assess pupils’ abilities with objective data and a fact-based tact superior to traditional hearsay-oriented coaching strategies. To further enhance performance, GolfTec offers club-fitting services to match each swing profile with its ideal set of sticks.

The founder of Moe's Home Collection, Moe Samieian, began his enterprise with a Vancouver rug store in 1985, eventually getting into the furniture business and steadily increasing his number of storefronts. Today, Moe's four locations boast a big selection of custom chairs, sofas, and desks, conversation-starting artwork and wall decorations, and rare cabinetware and Chinese antiques. Like a royal estate or lucky cow, the company has passed from father to son, with Moe Jr. sourcing exotic furniture pieces from as far away as Jakarta and Beijing, and consulting with homeowners to create one-of-a-kind Italian leather sofas or made-to-order contemporary pieces.